Glimpse into a Hundred Faces (30)
From then on, Zhao Huai Ren became a frequent visitor to the Xuanming Realm. Because of his disturbance, Yun Yanqiu finally decided to leave the tomb, but that was all. His soul seemed to linger before the stone tablet, his eyes perpetually veiled in mist, as if even his gaze had frozen.
Zhao Huai-ren always brought wine with him when he came, the rough earthenware jar always covered in fresh mud. "Try it." He opened the mud seal, and the aroma of wine mixed with the mountain breeze wafted into Yun Yanqiu's nostrils. "I brewed it myself." As usual, Yun Yanqiu only took a sip, without even raising an eyebrow. Zhao Huai-ren laughed: "The snow on Xuanming Mountain can freeze a person to the bone. Drinking a few more sips will help to warm up your blood."
Yun Yanqiu didn't drink much, but Zhao Huai Ren got more and more tipsy as he drank, and after a few rounds of drinks, he started talking more.
"Qi Rongting got married!" Zhao Huai Ren suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed. "Guess what his wedding procession scattered? Gold leaves!" He gestured to the scene of gold raining down. "The whole city was packed with people in the streets to watch the spectacle; it was almost impossible to walk!"
Sometimes Zhao Huai-ren would talk about the Lingyun Alliance. "Guess who will win this year's Heroes' Gathering?" He picked up a wine jug and got drunk. "You'd never guess, it's that kid who escaped from the Demon Cave back then!" He took another big gulp as he spoke: "Back then, he was kneeling and begging me to take him as my disciple, and now he can withstand ten of my moves."
Only when Zhao Siyun was mentioned would he suddenly put down the wine pot in his hand.
"The demonic energy in Yun'er's heart meridian has flared up again..." Zhao Huai Ren looked at the falling snowflakes and sighed, "Although it doesn't affect her mind, it can't be cured completely."
Zhao Siyun was ultimately afflicted by demonic energy that night, suffering lasting illness and becoming extremely weak. Zhao Huai Ren sought medical help everywhere, but could not find a cure. Even the most precious elixirs could only prolong her frail body's life.
Whenever this matter was brought up, Zhao Huai-ren would unconsciously observe Yun Yan-qiu's reaction. He noticed that his good brother was becoming increasingly indifferent. That indifference was like an invisible knife, carving an ever-widening chasm between the two of them.
At first, Zhao Huai-ren didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, cultivators are those who become more indifferent with higher cultivation levels. Wasn't Li Zhou-bai the same back then? He wishfully thought that, given their life-or-death friendship, Yun Yan-qiu should still have some warmth left in his heart. But he overestimated himself and Yun Yan-qiu.
That day, Zhao Huai-ren happily brought his daughter's wedding invitation to invite Yun Yanqiu to the banquet. However, Yun Yanqiu returned the gilded invitation untouched.
Zhao Huai-ren, used to this, stroked the lotus flower pattern on the wedding invitation and advised, "When Yun'er tried on her wedding dress, she asked me if her uncle was as handsome as her mother. I said..."
"No need." Yun Yanqiu sat cross-legged, not even opening his eyes.
"Why wouldn't it be necessary? That's yours—"
“I have no relatives.” His words were like a sword chilled to ice, piercing straight into Zhao Huai-ren’s heart.
Zhao Huai-ren's hand froze in mid-air. He suddenly realized that Yun Yanqiu hadn't been guarding the tomb all these years, but rather digging his own grave.
"Yun Yanqiu, how much time has passed? You still haven't moved on?" Zhao Huai Ren suddenly flared up, grabbing his shoulder and yelling, "If your master and mistress saw you like this—"
"open."
"I won't let go!" Zhao Huai-ren tightened his grip, forcing Yun Yanqiu to look him in the eye. "When did you become so cowardly?!"
"What's it to you?"
"I am your brother, and also your brother-in-law!"
"Who do you think you are, brother-in-law?!" Yun Yanqiu suddenly shouted, "Why didn't you stay home? Why did you let Lu Jiu take advantage of the situation?!"
Zhao Huai-ren paused, and the five fingers gripping Yun Yanqiu's shoulders suddenly lost their strength: "So... you've been blaming me all along? You think I'm the one who killed A-Yu and our parents?"
Yun Yanqiu didn't speak, but glared at him fiercely, her anger seeming to pierce his heart.
Zhao Huai-ren felt an unprecedented powerlessness, and a metallic taste rose in his throat. He staggered back two steps and slowly released his grip: "You're right, it's all my fault."
The snow that day was exceptionally heavy, so heavy that it buried the footprints of those who left.
After that day, Zhao Huai-ren never came to Xuanming Realm again. Yun Yanqiu returned to meditation, as if the previous argument had never happened. Only the wedding invitations on the stone table, gradually covered by snow, proved that someone had come.
One day, a figure draped in a black cloak shattered the tranquility of Xuanming Mountain, his footsteps breaking through the snow. Duan Yougan's gloomy expression remained unchanged as he scanned the empty courtyard and cut to the chase: "Where is Li Zhoubai?"
His gaze lingered for a moment on the jade pendant at Yun Yanqiu's waist, the thick, inky black aura causing him to frown slightly: "Has he fallen into demonic possession?"
Yun Yanqiu suddenly looked up, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Already dead?" Duan Yougan narrowed his eyes, reading the answer from the other person's expression. He followed Yun Yanqiu to the grave, his gaze sweeping over Li Zhoubai's tombstone before finally settling on the three characters "Qin Wenshuang" beside it, and he said softly, "He got off easy."
A cold wind swirled between the two stone tablets, carrying fine snow. Duan Yougan's boots crushed the thin ice, and his breath quickly dissipated in the wind.
"You'll stay here and keep vigil for them?"
"Um……"
"How long have you been on guard?"
"I can't remember."
“That’s not short.” Duan Yougan pointed to the jade pendant on Yun Yanqiu’s body. “I originally wanted to take back this Rakshasa Jade, but it’s just a piece of junk now.”
Upon hearing this, Yun Yanqiu picked up the jade pendant, her fingertips casually brushing against the black energy that seemed to be alive within it. After a long pause, she asked, "...When did you know he had fallen into demonic possession?"
"Ask about the first time you saw him after Shuangjie died." Duan Yougan's sharp gaze pierced Yun Yanqiu. "I just didn't expect that you would also be troubled by your inner demons."
Seeing Yun Yanqiu remain silent, Duan Yougan coldly snorted, "Rakshasa Jade requires pure spiritual power to dispel the black energy. Judging from its quality, you probably haven't had a moment of peace in the past ten years." He suddenly moved closer, "What exactly is the knot in your heart that keeps this demonic energy from dissipating?"
“I…” Yun Yanqiu’s fists clenched until they turned white, and his Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he said with difficulty, “Before Lu Jiuzhong died, he said… that my master had long since fallen into demonic possession.”
"I didn't believe it at first, but after returning to Xuanming Mountain, I discovered..." His voice trailed off, "...that my master not only fell into demonic possession, but also begged me to kill him..."
"You did it?"
"..." Yun Yanqiu's nails dug deeply into her palms. "I prepared his body for burial, but I still can't help but wonder—after Master fell into demonic possession, did he also expose my location in order to lure Lu Jiuzhong out?"
"You mean, Li Zhoubai betrayed you in order to kill Lu Jiuzhong?"
"Hmm..." Yun Yanqiu nodded gently, a bitter feeling rising in her throat.
Upon hearing this, Duan Yougan suddenly burst into laughter: "What's the use of thinking about these ambiguous things when the person is already dead?" He abruptly stopped laughing and pointed at the jade pendant, saying, "But he would rather become a demon himself than not give you the Rakshasa Jade... at least he still retains some of his sanity."
"Think about it again," he said, turning around. "Think it through quickly so you can purify the jade and return it to me."
Yun Yanqiu stared blankly at Duan Yougan's departing figure until it disappeared into the snow. He stood there for a long time, then suddenly closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, Yun Yanqiu's eyes were more profound, completely devoid of the previous confusion. He suddenly opened his mouth and shouted into the void, "Well? It's time for you to wake up too."
The surrounding scenery shimmered like a reflection in water, the snow-covered plains transforming into lush forests in an instant. The phantom of the blue-white sparrow dissipated, and Ye Yingying emerged from behind a tree, her eyes still filled with lingering shock: "When did you 'wake up'?"
“Just now.” Yun Yanqiu walked towards her, her voice unusually gentle, “Now, everything I didn’t want you to know, you know now.”
"Hmm..." Ye Yingying looked away uncomfortably, her heart filled with mixed feelings, her fingers unconsciously twisting the sash of her clothes.
“After Duan Yougan left, I thought about many things.” Yun Yanqiu touched her waist, which was now empty. “He was right. No matter how much I struggled with it, my master was dead. But the jade pendant he left me truly saved my life.”
"After that, I tried to dispel the black energy in the Rakshasa Jade. This process was not easy, and it took me a long time to defeat my inner demons." He paused. "During this time, Duan Yougan sent people over several times, but I was unable to purify the black energy as promised, so I had to send them back to wait some more. But then, they suddenly changed their tune and started calling him 'the Ghost Calculator'..."
Ye Yingying's pupils contracted slightly: "You mean..."
Yun Yanqiu nodded and continued, "At the time, I only vaguely realized that something might have happened on Duan Yougan's side, and I began to be wary of outsiders. But he never sent anyone else until you appeared."
Ye Yingying was suddenly stunned, and then she heard Yun Yanqiu say, "At first I did have some doubts about you and tested you. But I didn't expect that you seem to know less about the Ghost Calculator than I do."
"Huh?" Ye Yingying immediately frowned in displeasure, about to retort, but found herself speechless.
In the past, Ye Yingying would have definitely argued her case to get to the bottom of things. But now, having witnessed all that had happened, Ye Yingying realized that she really knew very little about the Ghost Calculator.
She pursed her lips and then asked Yun Yanqiu, "After that, did you never leave the mountain again?"
Yun Yanqiu nodded, then closed his eyes briefly, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "Zhao Huai Ren is right, I am indeed a coward. Even though my enemies are all dead, I don't even have the courage to face the living."
"At that time, I kept thinking about why things had turned out this way. Whose fault was it? The more Zhao Huai Ren came to Xuanming Mountain to see me, the more confused I became. I thought about everyone's faults, and in the end, I hated myself the most."
Do you regret it?
"...There have been. But that's precisely why what's before us now is all the more precious." Yun Yanqiu looked up, carefully taking Ye Yingying's hand, her eyes filled with hope. "And you, do you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"I regret knowing someone like me..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
